Moving stairway.



PATENTF1) MAY v26. 1908.

. -..Illllv v8. A. WHEELER. MOVING STAIRWAY.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.,18. 1907.

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E. A. WHEELER. MOVING STAIEWAY.

APPLICATION I'ILED.00T.18,1907.

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G. A. WHEELER.

MOVING STAIRWAY.

APPLIOATION FILED 001218. lo?.

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PATENTED MAY'ZG, 1908.

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G. A.. WHEELER.

MOVING STAIRWAY.

APLIOATION FILED 00'l.18. 1907.

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-way illustrated I GEORGE A. WHEELER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MOVING STAIRWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Application filed October 18, 1907. Serial No. 398,068.

,To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. WHEELER, a citizen of the United States,residing in Brooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certainImprovements in Moving Stairways, of which the following is aspeciiication.

My invention relates to certain improvements in mechanism of theparticular class described and claimed in an application for patentoriginally filed by me February 21, 1906, Serial No. 302,230, (renewedOctober 22, 1907, under Serial No. 398,033), one object of the presentinvention being to provide a moving stairway having itstoothed links soarranged as to produce a continuous rack capable of being engaged by asingle driving gear wheel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a single relatively simpledrive for the ascending and descending flights of the endless system oflinkage and its connected parts constituting a moving stairway; thevarious parts being so arranged that power shall be applied to drive thetwo flights of the stairway in opposite directions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a moving stairway withtwo sets of toothed links arranged to form two distinct racks, whichlinks shall be' so constructed as to be interchangeable.

It is also desired to so arrange two endless systems of linkage and thevarious parts connected therewith as to form interlaced movingstairways, of which one is disposed partly within but wholly independentand clear of the ath ofthe other.

Tiese objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter setforth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure1, is a plan, to some extent diagrammatic, of a moving stairwayconstructed according to my invention; Fig. 2, is a vertical section, onthe line 2 2, of the stairin Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a vertical section onthe line 3 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, is a side elevation of a stairwayconstructed according to my invention and illustrating the steps asarranged to form a substantially horizontal platform or landing betweentwo inclined portions; Fig. 5, is a plan of one end of a double movingstairway, illustrating two independent systems of steps interlaced Witheach other; Fig. 6, is a vertical section on the line 6-6, Fig. 5; Fig.7, is a side elevation illustrating in detail a portion of a movingstairway constructed according to my invention; Fig. 8, is a plan,partly in horizontal section, of the stairway shown in Fig 7; Fig. 9, is-a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the arrangement of thevarious links relatively to the steps; Fig. 10, is a side elevationillustrating one means for counteracting the pressure of the drivinggear upon the toothed links; Fig. 11, is a vertical section of one ofthe steps employed as part of my invention, and illustrating the meansfor attaching the links to said steps; Figs. 12 and 13, are verticalsections illustrating .the means for driving the ascending anddescending flights of my stairway; Fig. 14, is a vertical section of oneof the posts connected to each step and illustrating a modlfication ofmy invention; and, Fig. 15, is a perspective view of one of the toothedlinks.

It must be understood that the above drawings are all more or lessdiagrammatic, as they are designed to primarily illustrate the variousparts and their relative arrange` ment rather than their required orpreferred proportions.

Referring first to Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive of the above drawings, thestairway com rising my invention consists of a number o steps or stepsections A, each consisting of a hollow casing open at the bottom. Eachof these casings has bearings for a shaft d which extends longitudinallythrough it and is provided with wheels a.

Within the step casings are two transverse webs or ribs (L2, each havingtwo downwardly projecting lugs together forming a fork-like structureextending below the bottom of said easing. Rigidly mounted between thetwo webs a2 in any desired or suitable manner is a downwardly extendingpost B, provided at its lower' end with a washer l) and a nut b' wherebythere are held in position on it four sleeves b2, b3, b4 and t5. Ifdesired this post may be provided with a sleeve t and have the variousother sleeves mounted upon this, as shown in Fig. 14. The two uppersleeves b2 and b3 each has projecting horizontally from it an arm t, andone of these arms extends between lugs a3 belonging to one of the i runsof lthe stairway.

post B as an axis. The sleeve b2 has pivoted t0 it a paii of links cwhich extend to the similar sleeve belonging` to one of the steps nextadjacent to it, while a second pair of links c is likewise pivoted tothe sleeve b3 and extends from this to the similar sleeve on the otheradjacent step. The two sleeves b4 and b5 are the same in form anddimensions, and to the sleeves b4 of two adja'cent steps is pivotallyconnected a toothed link or rack D; the connection being made to eachsleeve adjacent to one end thereof.

From Figs. 7 and S, it will be seen that toothed links D form asubstantially continuous rack throughout the length of the stairway, thefaces of thel teeth lying in vertical planes and the ends of the linksbeing overhung so that there is practically no break between adjacentlink ends in the straight Moreover, the racks are so supported that theteeth of their adjacent ends are the correct distance apart to properlyengage the driving gears. In addition to these links D, there is asecond series of links D" which are likewise connected so as to form asubstantially continuous rack throughout the length of the stairway,though the links of this second seriesare staggered relatively to thoseof the first series of links. That is to say, between any two steps, asfor example the steps A and A2 in Fig. 7, two of the toothed links Dterminate, one of these being connected to the step A3 and to the stepA, and the other being connected to the step A2 and also to the step tothe right of it. The two posts B of the steps A and A2 are however,connected by a single link D so that the middle of this latter linkcomes opposite the ends of the two links D. It will be noted that thelinks D are referably placed on the outer sides of the lin is D so as toavoid the possibility of interference in going around the loops.

As noted in connection with the links D, the links D of the secondseries are pivotally connected to their sleeves if so as to be movableon them in substantially vertical planes7 and in order to drive thestairway l provide a relatively wide faced gear E so arranged `that itsteeth simultaneously engage the teeth of the toothed links D and D ofboth series. I preferably drive both the ascending and the descendingrims of the stairway, providing the gear E on the descending side andthe gear E on the ascending side as indicated in Figs. 12 and 13.lt'will of course be understood that suitable tracks f are providedwhere necessary for the wheels a of the steps and also provide anysuitable supporting framework F for the system.

The shafts for the gears E and E are carried in suitable bearings f andf 2 and are repsectively provided with beveled gears f3 and f4, therebeing also provided a single driving shaft f(3 actuated from anysuitable motor and having two beveled pinionsf5 and f7, mountedsimilarly to each other and meshing respectively with the gears f 3 andf1. inasmuch as the toothed racks of the ascending and descendingflights of the stairway are so arranged as to be between the two gears Eand E, it will be noted that power is applied to the toothed links shownin Fig. 12 so as to cause the steps connected thereto, to descend, whilethe toothed links engaged by the gear E are caused to ascend.

Where there are ascending and descending flights extending through twoAor more stories, additional single transverse shafts or gears may beprovided and driven in synchronisin by any suitable means.

As the system of the steps and links approaches a landing or platform,as shown in Fig. 7, the toothed links D and D, which in the straightrims of the stairway have formed straight continuous racks, becomesubstantially horizontal and are then inclined either up or down as thesteps pass from the platform or landing into another ascending ordescending run before entering one of the loops. As noted in my abovementioned application for patent, the arm t, in conjunction with thelugs a3 prevent one step from swinging beyond a predetermined anglerelatively to its adjacent steps, so that the system in going through acurve such as that of the end loops, is necessarily maintained with itssteps in the relative positions best suited for efficient andsatisfactory operation.

In Fig. 1, l have illustrated a typical moving stairway constructedaccording to my invention, the various parts being so arranged as toprovide an ascending run a5, a descending run a and end loops a7 and a8,the arrangement of steps while traversing one of the eiid'loops beingwell shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4, l have illustrated a system of stepsiii which certain steps are caused to assume horizontal positions withtheir tread surfaces all in the same plane so as to form a landing a9between two ascending or descending runs.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, it is possible to provide two interlacingstairway systems where this may be found desirable, the parts `beingarranged so that said systems are absolutely independent of each other,and while occupying a minimum amount of space,

have two runs immediately adjacent to each other and moviiigin the samedirection. It is to be understood that the second ends of the systems ofthese figures are arranged in a manner the saine as those shown herein.This interlacing of two or more stairways is rendered possible bycausing the steps of one section to cross those of another at the loopsthereof, which as-will be noted, include depressed curved portions asindicated at a7 and (1,10 in Figs. 5 and 6. In the case illustr ated,the two ascending or descending runs 0,11 and am are closely adjacent toeach other and may if desired be caused to both move in the samedirection. The clearance of the two systems is secured in this case bymaking the landing above the descending run a of greaterlength than thatabove the run 0,12, though it is obvious that the same object may beattained in'other ways.

ln order to counteract the side thrust of the gears E and E', I attachto each of the toothed links D and D a pressure plate or bar G, as shownin Fig. 15, pivoting this to the sleeves b4 or b5 as the case may be, sothat it is free to move relatively to the same in a manner similar tothat of the toothed links themselves. The pressure rollers g are mountedin any desired manner, as shown in Fig. 10, opposite the links E and Eso as to bear upon the pressure bars or plates Gr and so keep the teethof the racks in engagement with the teeth of said gear wheels. Thesepressure rollers can have either a rigid surlace of solid metal or beprovided with a resilient surface of rubber, wood, spring metal or thelike.

It is to be noted that the sleeves b4 and b5 are so placed on the postsB that their toothed links D and D are at the maximum distance apart.All of said sleeves and links, however, are of the same dimensions andJforms, so that they are completely interchangeable when they arereversed as to position.

I claim:

1. A moving stairway having substantially parallel toothed linksconnecting the steps and arranged in two series, the memberls of' whichare staggered relatively to each ot er.

2. A moving stairway including two series.

of parallel toothed links connecting the steps, the ends of the links ofone series being opposite the middles of the links of the other seriesand the ends of each link being overhung to form substantiallycontinuous racks.

3. The combination in a moving stairway of a plurality of steps, linksconnecting said steps to form an endless system, two substantiallyparallel series of toothed links connected to the steps and arrangedwith their toothed faces vertical, with a driving gear mounted tosimultaneously engage the toothed links of both series.

4. A moving stairway consisting of a plurality of steps, means forconnecting said steps to form an endless system, and two series oftoothed links staggered relatively to each other, with a driving gearfor the system, the same being constructed to simultaneously engage thetoothed links of both series.

l 5. The combination in a moving stairway of a series of steps connectedto ether to form an endless system, a series o toothed links having itsmembers arranged to connect said Vsteps in pairs, a second series oftoothed links also arranged to connect the steps, but in different pairsfrom those of the first series, with means for driving the stairwaythrough the toothed links.

v 6. The combination in a moving stairway of a series oisteps connectedto form an endless system, two series of toothed links connected to thesteps and forming substantially continuous racks, with a toothed gearconstructed to simultaneously engage the toothed links of both series,and means for counteracting the thrust of the gear upon said toothedlinks.

7. A moving stairway including steps connected to form an endlessseries, posts extending downwardly from the steps, sleeves on the posts,and toothed links pivotally connecting the sleeves of adjacent posts.

8. The combination in a moving stairway oi a number of steps connectedto form an endless system, a downwardly extending post on each step, twosleeves carried by each post, toothed links connecting the upper sleevesof the posts in pairs to Jform a continuous rack,

first series and connecting the lower sleeves of the posts to form asecond continuous rack, the teeth of the links being formed to lie in asubstantially vertical plane or planes, with means for driving saidtoothed links.

9. The combination in a moving stairway of a number of steps connectedto `form an endless system, a downwardly extending post on each step,two sleeves carried by each post, toothed links connecting the uppersleeves of the posts in pairs to form a continuous rack, a second seriesof toothed links connecting the lower sleeves of the posts to form asecond continuous 'rack and staggered relatively to the links of theiirst series, the teeth of the links being formed to lie in asubstantially vertical plane or planes, means for driving said toothedlinks, pressure plates extending between the sleeves, and means actingupon said plates to take the thrust of the driving means.

10. The combination in a moving stairway of a numberv of steps connectedto form an endless system, a downwardly extending post on each step, twosleeves carried by each .post, toothed links connectingv the uppersleeves of the posts in pairs to form a continuous rack, a second seriesof toothed links connecting, the lower sleeves of the posts to form asecond continuous rack and staggered relatively to the links of thefirst series, the teeth of the links being formed to lie in asubstantially vertical plane or planes, means for driving said toothedlinks, two sets of pressure plates respectively connected to the sleevesand staggered relatively to each a second series of toothed linksstaggered relatively to the links of the other, with a roller mounted toengage said pressure plates to take the thrust of the driv- Ing means.

1 l. The combination in a moving stairway of a plurality of interlaced,endless systems of steps.

l2. The combination in a moving stairway of a plurality of interlaced,endless systems of steps, one of said systems having elongated landingsunder which the loops of the other system extend.

13. The combination in a mo ving stairway of a plurality of endlessseries of steps each providedwith a looped portion or portions, saidseries'of steps being interlaced so as to cross each other at theirlooped portions.

14. A moving stairway consisting of a series of step sections connectedto form an endless system, two series of interchangeable toothed linkscarried by the stairway, and means for driving said toothed links.

15. The combination in a moving stairway of a plurality of stepsections, each having a downwardly extending post, meanspfor connectingthe step sections to form an endless system, sleeves mounted on eachpost, and toothed links pivotally connected to the sleeves of each post,said links being arranged in two series and being relativelyinterchangeable.

1 6. The combination in a moving stairway Vof a series of step sectionsconnected to form an endless system having an ascending and a descendingrun, toothed links carried by the step sections, two gears respectivelyengaging the toothed links of the system on the ascending and on thedescending runs, with a common driving shaft for said gears.

17, A moving stairway consisting of a series of step sections connectedto form an endless system, a series of toothed links carried by the stepsections so as to form a continuous rack and arranged with their toothedfaces lying in a substantially verticalplane, two driving gears engagingsaid toothed links at the ascending and descending runs of the stairwayrespectively, beveled gears re' spectively connected to said drivinggears, a single driving shaft, beveled pinions for said shaftrespectively engaging the beveled gears, the parts being arranged sothat one gear tends to dr'ive the ascending run upwardly while the othertends to drive the descending run downwardly.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speciiication, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE A. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM A. GORMAN, MARTIN MARUM.

